THRIFTWAY HOOPS IT UP WITH THE TRAIL BLAZERS

AMITY K. MOORE

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Thriftway stores, cooperating with United Grocers here, teamed with the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team in a six-week promotion during which participants answered weekly trivia questions in an attempt to win a three-minute shopping spree.

All 44 independent Thriftway stores participated in the promotion, displaying an entry box in a high-traffic area of their store, Kevin Hogan, advertising coordinator with United Grocers, told SN.

Each store raised awareness with point-of-purchase materials that included a cutout of Gary Trent of the Trail Blazers, contest rules, 5,000 entry blanks, ribbons worn by employees and shopping bags with "Enter to Win Thriftway 24 Seconds to Shop" printed on them.

Thriftway, a corporate sponsor of the Trail Blazers, raised awareness outside the store through general announcements about the promotion at Blazers basketball games.

Hogan said Thriftway decided to participate in the contest because it helps "bring some traffic into the stores."

No purchase was necessary for consumers to enter the contest. Participants answered the weekly Trail Blazer trivia question on the entry blank and dropped it in the entry box. A weekly winner in each store received a $25 Thriftway gift certificate and Blazer merchandise.

At the end of the six weeks, store managers gathered the entries that had all six trivia questions answered correctly. From those, one winner was selected to win the shopping spree.

A spokesman for Thriftway said the winner collected $711.12 in cereal, pet food, laundry detergent, fruit juices and other packaged foods while racing around the store with Trent of the Blazers.

Hogan labeled the promotion a success. "The feedback from the store managers was real positive. It's tough to say whether overall sales increased. It's more of an event that gets our customers involved. The plan is it makes the store a destination for that week," he said. "Sales have been very good for the first quarter, but it's very tough to attribute it to any one thing," Hogan added.